Saturday is moving day…and it did not disappoint at the 2026 Rogue Invitational. Laura Horvath and Ricky Garard both did what they needed to do to get into contention heading into the final day.
With a tightly packed top of the leaderboard, Sunday is going to be exciting. More on that at the bottom of this article. But let’s first get into what happened on Day 2…
Adler Couldn’t Hang On
Event 4 was going to be between Jeff Adler and Ricky Garard thanks to five rounds that featured 750-meter runs. Adler looked strong throughout, but in the final round of toes-to-bar, Adler broke.
The problem was that if you didn’t complete the 30 T2B unbroken, a penalty up Matter Hill was issued. Adler dropped off the pull-up bar leaving the door open for Garard to sneak past him for a much needed 100 points.
Garard had a fantastic Saturday. Two event wins and a 6th place finish vaulted him to 5th overall and into a shot to finish on the podium. Not bad after starting the weekend with 17th and 16th place finishes.
Cringle’s the Best Runner
The crown for the best female runner is solely with Aimee Cringle. Throughout Event 4, Packout, Cringle looked smooth and in control. While Lucy Campbell stayed close and would take 2nd in the event, Cringle once again notched an event where running was the critical component.
No Surprises in The Duel
Another year, another Duel and more wins for Laura Horvath and Jayson Hopper. It’s something that is basically guaranteed at this point.
Hopper has won The Duel three times in the past four years, while Horvath and Speegle have dominated the women’s field. This year was no different.
The Duel is a power-based athletic sprint, something that Hopper, Horvath, Speegle and Gui Malheiros excel at. Unfortunately for Malheiros, he struggled a bit and took 3rd this year.
But Hopper won (again). So did Horvath. And Speegle took 3nd.
Personally, it would be nice to mix it up a bit if The Duel VII has to be programmed next year.
Dallin in the Driver’s Seat
Dallin Pepper did what he needed to on Saturday to put him in position to win the Rogue Invitational. After a 13th place finish on the first event of the day, Pepper took 2nd on The Duel and followed it up with a 4th place finish on Orlando.
That was enough to maintain a 35-point lead over Jay Crouch and 45 points ahead of James Sprague. Tudor Magda is hanging around in 4th place followed by Ricky Garard.
Women’s Top 4 is Insane
The really exciting story heading into Sunday is on the women’s side. Gabi Migala leads by the narrowest margin, just five points.
And behind her is a three-way tie (yes, a THREE-WAY TIE!) for second place. Alex Gazan, Lucy Campbell and Aimee Cringle are tied with 440 points and are five points behind Migala!
But wait…there’s more!
Emma Lawson is in 5th place and only 20 points behind the three women tied for 2nd place.
And in 6th place is…Laura Horvath. After starting the day in 12th overall and in the first heat, Horvath’s win in The Duel and two more top 6 finishes put her in 6th place.
Horvath is only 40 points behind Migala in 1st place.
So not only do we have a traffic jam at the top, Horvath is poised to make another run. Especially based on tomorrow’s programming. She’s one of the best at rope climbs. She should do just fine on Event 8 and a fast, power-based finale could open the door to an epic comeback.
The Bet
If you watched THE SPIN this past Wednesday, John and Tyler wagered a bet on the women’s field. I’m honestly not sure what Tyler was thinking, but that’s on him.
Tyler bet that Dani Speegle would beat Lucy Campbell this weekend. Yes, seriously.
As expected, John vehemently disagreed.
And a bet was born.
If Dani beats Lucy at the 2026 Rogue Invitational, John has to shave his head.
If (and when) Lucy beats Dani, Tyler has to wear a toupee on the show.
